Mind Your Banners
by Drapex437
Summary: So what happens if Bruce has a secret, not even Tony knows about? And what if Tony's closer to this secret than he knows? Meet Alysha Banner, Bruce's daughter. This is her story. Suck at summaries but really good! Check it out! Rated M because I have know idea where this will end up, so better safe than sorry.
1. Chapter 1

"Hey Dad! I'm home! … Hello..?" I walked into my small apartment I share with my dad in Baltimore, Maryland. I toss my purse and keys onto the counter as I come back from my daily 3:00 pm run after my work at the R&D department at Stark Industries. Now I know that seems like a strange, especially for a normal 17 year old teenage girl. Shouldn't I be in High School, drooling over the hottest boys and gossiping about who said what to whom about some other girl that didn't do anything to anybody? Normal right? But that's the thing. I'm not normal. Everything on the outside is "normal", but my mind, now that's a different story. I'm smart. Like, really smart. Really, really smart. I have been labeled a genius with a 196 IQ. I am _the_ smartest person in the world, not to toot my own horn. And I don't, because I don't like being different. I graduated high school as a preteen, 12 to be specific, though I was 'technically' still in junior high. I went to MIT after that because I like working with my hands. It calms my mind, so instead of going warp speed, it's goes a relaxing 150 miles an hour. Ahh, just thinking of that relaxes me, for a moment. Running does that too. That's why I run three times a day for an hour each time. Calming. Anyway, Dad's usually home when I get home, so for him to not be here, is strange. I go to the fridge to grab a smoothie of baby kale, apples, and strawberries. As I went to close the fridge door, I notice the hand towel that we wrap around the handle for drying our hands after the dishes, isn't there. I look around and notice it on the floor. ' _Hmm, Dad never leaves things out of place'_ , I wonder. As I begin to look around the rest of the apartment, I begin to notice several things are out of place. The area rug has been moved, several photos of Dad and I on various vacations that were hanging on the wall are now on the floor, broken, and the vase of wildflowers on the TV stand next to my father's recliner is across the room; the vase, shattered. I wander around the rest of the house and find nothing out of place, so I decide to try my dad's cell. It goes straight to voicemail.

"Hey Dad, it's me. Just wondering where you are. Call me back ASAP. Love you. Bye." I hang up and stare at the phone in confusion, wracking my brain for anything that could help me figure out where he is. "Tony," I whisper. I have heard my father on the phone with a man named Tony tons of times, but I've never met him or heard his voice. I go into the phonebook on the phone and search for 'Tony'. I don't find anyone with that name. Maybe it's a nickname? I start scrolling through all of the contacts and come across an "Anthony". "Tony is short for Anthony, right?" I mutter to myself. I take a deep breath and dial it.

"BRUCE! BRUCE IS THAT YOU?!" I have to hold the phone away from my ear so I don't go deaf. "Umm, no this is his daughter, Alysha. I was wondering where he was. I assume this is Tony?" I ask the man on the other end.

"Yes it's Tony, but who are you? Bruce has no children. And you'd better tell me now, cause I'm about to ring the doorbell and I want to know if I ought to get my gun." I nearly drop the phone.

"Umm, but I- I don't- I am-," I stutter into the phone.

"Ok, so you're not a spy or the person responsible, hmm. Oh, by the way, open the door," he replies. _Ding Dong!_ I hang up the phone and numbly walk to the door. I take a few seconds to try and get my breathing and heart rate back to normal before I face my father's friend. I slowly open the door just enough to peek out at the man, and when I do, I nearly slam it shut again.

" _Ohh, my FUCKING God! TONY FUCKING STARK IS AT MY DOOR! MY BOSS! MY DAD'S….. friend? How does Dad even know the most famous man in the world?"_ These thoughts race through my head in nanoseconds as I open the door wider to allow him in. There goes the effects of my calming run. He simply nods and instantly goes to the living room and starts inspecting the shattered vase and area around it.

"Hmm, so he was able to control it… good job. He must have tried to defend himself while restraining… difficult…," Tony mutters to himself.

"Excuse me! I mean, excuse me, _sir_ , but I would like to know why you are here and how the hell do you know my father, for he certainly has no reason to know you!" I spat out after several minutes of muttering and poking around without so much as a glance towards me. Tony snaps to attention and immediately extends his hand.

"Tony Stark, genius, billionaire, playboy-,"

"Philanthropist, yaddy yadda yadda, we've all heard it thousands of times!" I interrupt. "And I know who you are. What I want to know is how you know my dad. He's an ordinary man, not some super-human freak."

At this, Tony chuckles. "Ordinary, huh? He must of kept you in the dark. Smart of him. Darling, he is about as far from ordinary as I am from being stupid."

"One: Do NOT, and I repeat, DO NOT call me 'darling' again. Only my father calls me that. And two: what do you- no, _why_ do you think that he's more than ordinary? I mean, I think he's the best guy ever but he's just a regular Joe. He's a high school teacher for crying out loud!" I respond, slightly unsteadily.

" _Sir, I have been notified of a group of men with tactical armor and several high powered rifles coming up the staircase. Given that this is the only rented apartment on the top floor, I assume they are coming for Ms. Banner,_ " came a semi-robotic voice from nowhere.

"Thanks, J. Well, I guess we'd better be going. Hey, J? Get a full scan of the entire apartment. I want to get a closer look at it when we get back to the house," Tony replies smoothly.

" _Of course, sir. Already 50% completed,_ " came the voice again.

"Wh- wh- who is that?" I ask, in shock.

"Oh that's just JARVIS, my personal AI. I had Bruce's home connected to JARVIS's database, for situations such as this," Tony answers as someone begins banging on the door. "Dammit, we're trapped," he mutters.

"No shit, Sherlock," I mutter under my breath.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! Hopefully you liked Chapter 1, cause here comes Chapter 2! Anyway, huge thanks to JoyceFleur for the follow! Glad you like it! On another note, I hope you guys got the** ** _Sherlock_** **thing. While I love RDJ and Jude Law's** ** _Sherlock_** **movies, I love without a doubt Benedict Cumberbatch's** ** _Sherlock_** **so much more. Sorry RDJ! Moving on. Here comes Chapter 2! Enjoy, and please, I welcome all reviews!**

"Hey, there's a fire escape outside my window, and there is no one renting the apartment below us," I blurt out before I even realize that I'm helping this guy whom I just met go on the run with me.

"Why would we go to apartment below this one? Why not just go to the ground?" comes his reply, as the knocking continues, harder this time.

"Because A), the escape ends one floor from the ground and it's a hard fall, trust me, I've done it, and B), the lower three ladders are very rusted and I don't want to try my luck, again," I throw back at him. His face says what I know he won't say, that I'm right.

"Fine, proceed, quickly," he mutters.

"Damn straight," I hotly reply.

We then proceed to my bedroom and as he opens my window to leave, I begin to pack a bag. I throw some jeans, a few shirts, socks and other necessities, as well as my lock box from under my bed into an old backpack.

"What are you doing?!" Tony hisses at me. "We need to leave now!"

"Hey, genius! I know! But I'm not gonna go anywhere without some spare things! Now shut up and climb!" I spit back. I have a bad feeling that we aren't going to get along. We're too much alike. As I go to lock my bedroom door, to give us extra time, I hear the intruders break down my door. " _I liked that door, assholes. It was solid oak…_ " I think to myself. "Hurry, they're in the house," I whisper to Tony as I'm crawling out the window behind him. I close the window best I could from the outside and make my way as quickly and quietly as I could down to Tony, who is trying to get the window open.

"Oh fuck this!" I say hotly. I brace myself and slam my elbow through the window. "Ouch, son of a bitch," I hiss as my elbow begins to bleed due to the small shard of glass in it. I quickly, but carefully pull it out of my arm. Tony rips the hem of my shirt and quickly tied it around my arm. "Hey, dammit, I liked this shirt!"

"Shut up and get in. I'll buy you a new one once our lives aren't in danger," Tony replies flippantly. As I climb through the window, I flip him the bird, which pisses me off because he does it right back.

"I hate self-centered, egotistical, assholes such as yourself," I tell Tony matter of factly as we run down the stairs and out of the building. As Tony leads us around the corner, towards a slick, blacked out Audi across the street, we hear a loud crash. We pause and look back and see my apartment on fire. I swallow back a sob as Tony turns me back towards the car and helps me in. He speeds away as I look over my shoulder, back at my life, burning away. I curled up in the seat and begin to quietly weep. My father, **GONE** , my home, **GONE** , my life as I knew it, **GONE**. And I'm now in a car driving somewhere unknown with a man I just met, after people tried to kill me. Eventually, I drift off, into a sorrowful slumber.

When I wake up, I'm in a large, comfy bed and for a moment, I think I'm in my bed at home, and Dad is going to slowly open the door, so he won't wake me, just so he can tickle me awake. As I lie in my bed, waiting, suddenly the events from yesterday come rushing to the forefront of my mind. I begin gasping for breath as the sobs take over. I don't hold anything back, I just let it out. I cry for a while, and as I slowly stop, a soft, careful knock comes from my door. A beautiful woman, with long, reddish, blonde hair peeks her head in when I don't answer.

"Hey, Alysha, right? I'm Pepper, Tony's girlfriend. Is it alright if I come in?" she asks with a soft, motherly voice. Because I don't trust my voice, I just nod my head a little. She comes in and sits on the edge of my bed and just slowly begins to rub my back. It feels comforting, and the longer she rubs, the more relaxed I become. After about 10 minutes of comfortable silence and back rubbing, I slowly turn over and sit up, facing her. "You doing better?" she asks quietly.

"Yeah, thanks," I mumble, a little shy in front of this powerful, confident woman, who is technically another one of my bosses. "Where am I?"

"You're in Stark Tower, in New York City. We gave you this apartment floor that was reserved for Bruce, err, your dad. You and Tony arrived about 5 hours ago, after a 3 hour drive. Since you were asleep, he carried you in here and let you sleep. He understands what you're going through, kind of. Something similar happened to him and his father when he was young. Not kidnapping, but Tony's dad went missing for a while. He asked me to bring you to our main floor, when you're ready. He's making dinner." After I glance at her skeptically, she chuckles under her breath. "Yeah, more like he ordered some Italian food from a restaurant from down the street and is keeping it warm in our pans," she smiles.

"Ok, I'll be right there. Do you mind if I take a quick shower?" I ask.

"Of course, dear. When you get in the elevator, chose the button labeled "Main" or ask JARVIS. All you need to do is say, 'Hey, JARVIS, take me to the main floor', or ask to be brought to us," Pepper explains. I only nod in response. "Ok, well, then I will see you in a few minutes."

As she gets up to leave, I quickly say, "Thank you for letting me stay here."

That puts a soft, caring smile on her face as she replies, "You're welcome, dear. What would you expect, us to kick you out, onto the streets, when we have plenty of empty apartments in the building? Don't be silly. Oh, and I will do my best to save some food for you if you wish to take a longer shower. Tony tends to get impatient when it comes to food."

I smile at her. "Thanks, Ms. Potts," I reply.

"Dearie, it's Pepper, or Pep. Ms. Potts is my CEO title. At home, I'm a regular girl."

"Living with and dating a self-proclaimed playboy who does everything in his power to get into trouble?" I ask jokingly.

Pepper just shakes her head and chuckles. "You know what, yeah. And people wonder why I get flustered at work." She smiles softly at me. "I think we will get along great."

"Yeah, I think so too, Pepper."

She smiles again and she says, "Get going, girly. By now, probably half of the food is gone."

I chuckle. "Ok, Pepper. Save me some linguine if you've got some."

"With pleasure, Alysha," she replied as she softly closed the door.

I smile to myself as I get ready to go to take a shower. " _I wonder if that was what my mother was like. I sure hope so. I could see my father falling for a girl like that…_ "


	3. Chapter 3

After a nice shower, I dig into my bag and take out my hastily packed clothes and spread them on the bed to decide what to wear. I sigh happily when I see I packed my favorite pair of dark blue skinny jeans. I also pick out a nice, cream colored sweater. Thankfully, I had grabbed the first things I saw on the floor, and since I had worn these things only a few days ago, they had yet to reach the laundry hamper. They weren't really dirty, and only slightly wrinkled from being in my bag, so I changed into them, smoothing out the wrinkles best I could. I looked at my arm where I cut it on the window, and notice that while I was sleeping, it had scabbed over. I rolled my sleeve back down and went to fix my hair. I glanced at the mirror in the bathroom as I was brushing my chocolate brown hair and realized with a start, I had forgotten my makeup. I don't usually wear much, I'm not like the girls who put four pounds of it on to cover up a "blemish" that you wouldn't be able to see anyways. I always put some under-eye concealer on because I always have dark bags under my eyes. " _Oh, well. I look decent enough, I guess,_ " I think to myself. I exit the bathroom, leaving my hair down in natural waves, pack up the rest of my stuff the best I could, and slip on some socks as I mentally prepare myself for what was to come. Tony and I, well, we are very similar, so I don't know how he and I are going to get along. Maybe with Pepper there, he might be different, although I doubt it. I take a deep breath and leave my bedroom, well, Dad's bedroom, and enter a lovely living area, complete with a small kitchen and dining bar. I go to the windows that line an entire wall, and stare out at the beautiful city of New York. I gape in wonder at all of the skyscrapers lit up and all of the cars on the streets, considering it was 8:30. Late for dinner, but when you are a billionaire with a skyscraper just for yourself, I guess you can eat whatever you want whenever you want. I turn from the picturesque view and spot the elevator. I go to hit the button but there is no button and it opens when I get close enough, as if it was an automatic door at Wal-Mart. I step into the elevator and say, with a shaky voice, "J-J-JARVIS?"

Immediately came the response. " _Yes, Miss Banner? I assume you would like to be brought to Sir and Ms. Potts?_ "

"Yes, please, JARVIS. Oh, and JARVIS? She prefers to be called 'Pepper'", I tell the AI, with a bit more confidence.

" _Yes, Miss Banner. She has told me that on several occasions. While on the topic of abbreviated names, please call me_ ' _J_ ' _. Only Sir calls me that, but I do enjoy irritating Sir_ ", replied JARVIS.

"Of course, I'll call you 'J', but only if you call Pepper, 'Pepper', from now on. And, no offence, but, are you human? I thought you were a machine, but you are acting like a human person, what with your 'enjoy irritating' and 'abbreviated names'".

" _I will certainly call Ms. Potts_ 'Pepper' _from now on, and to answer your question, I am a machine, built in remembrance of Sir's butler as a child whose name, I'm told, was Jarvis. Sir built me to be as human-like as possible, because before Pepper came into his life, he was very much alone so, he wished for companionship,_ " JARVIS explained.

"J, have we even moved?" I ask, realizing we have been standing here, well, I've been standing on the elevator for several minutes while we talked.

" _Oh, yes, Miss Banner. Before you even asked me to call Pepper_ 'Pepper' _, we were on the floor where Pepper and Sir are waiting. While talking to you, I have simultaneously been lying to them for your sake. I could sense your elevated pulse and shallow breathing, both of which are symptoms of anxiety, so I kept up a conversation with you to help calm yourself. I have apparently succeeded, as your breathing and heart rate has decreased to a normal level._ "

"Oh," was all I could say, stunned. "Well, thanks, and what did you tell them?"

" _I explained to Sir that you were preparing to beat him in a game of wits and snide comments, which made Pepper instantly start telling him to, and I quote, 'behave yourself, because if she is already thinking of comebacks, then you must have had it out with her before you even got home,' to which Sir tried to respond, but was shot down by Pepper,_ " JARVIS explained, with a hint of humor.

I smiled. "Thanks, J. You're a life-saver."

" _You are certainly welcome, Miss Banner. Are you ready to exit the elevator?_ "

"Yeah, go ahead, J. And thanks again."

The door opens as I take a deep breath and step out of the comfort of solitude.

* * *

 **Hey all! Sorry this chapter is so much shorter, but when I was first writing this story, I never planned on publishing it, so breaking it down into chapters reveals to me that I am inconsistent in my length of "scenes". I'll try to be more consistent later on! And while I'm on the topic, I have written a lot for this story and have a pretty good idea as to where I want it to go, but if you have any ideas AT ALL, let me know! I will see what I can do to make this story as awesome as possible. Thanks so much for the support!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello, fellow Avenger lovers! Thanks to** **doctor3378 for the follow! Glad you like it! So I just realized that I never actually gave you guys an idea as to where this story is headed. Not going to give too much away, but obviously Banner is missing. Which for Banner is the worst possible thing, because that means that Alysha is now subjected to the life of superheroes and villains. But there is another secret about Banner and Alysha that nobody knows except him, which answers the question, "Why does Tony and the others not know about Alysha?" That will be discovered eventually. This is AU, so to make this work, I made it so that Banner has retired from the Avengers and is only a consultant, and has never told Alysha that he helped in the New York Attack. This story is after the Avengers and before any other movie. This story will not be including other movie storylines, simply because that is a lot to do, and I'm already struggling on next chapter, let alone another storyline. Yeah, now you guys know what I'm planning for this. Now please enjoy Chapter 4!**

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"There she is!" Pepper says cheerily as she places a heaping plate of delicious smelling pasta on the bar that is located across the room from the elevator. "I apologize about not having a dinner table, but Tony's usually in his lab and I don't try to get him out from there anymore. We usually just grab some leftovers from the fridge or order something new," she explains.

"This is fine, Pepper. We had a table at-, at home, but we rarely ate at it," I reply as I take a seat. I struggle with remembering my home and my dad, but I keep my emotions in check. "It smells delicious."

"Thank you very much, I appreciate the compliment," says Tony as he walks into the room from a hallway. He takes a bow. "I love it when my genius and skill is recognized," he says, looking pointedly at Pepper.

Pepper and I look at each other, and she gives me a look, saying, 'This is ALL yours.' "Ohh, Tony, only if you had skills worth recognizing," I say with an eye roll and a haughty tone. Pepper struggles to hold back a snort while Tony looks truly offended. "Calm down, Tony-boy, Pepper already told me this is take out, and considering, the bag is near the trash but not actually in it, it has just gotten here and you threw it into a pan, that Pepper will eventually clean for you, because, for some reason, she likes you, and you rushed to look as if you slaved over this, but in your haste, missed the trash bin. So I suppose the only actual skill you possess is laziness and procrastination." The room was silent, and I realize that I might have gone too far. I mean, they did open their home to me, no questions asked. As I open my mouth to explain, Pepper and Tony both burst out laughing, gasping for breath in between the gut-wrenching laughter. I smile nervously, then join in the laughing. For several minutes, we all can't look at each other without laughing. "O-o-okay-y-y," I stutter, trying to not laugh again. "That felt good, really good." They smile.

"Well," says Tony. "I have to admit, you were dead on and didn't even blink an eye, and I loved it!" Tony smiles wide. "Now, let's eat so this food doesn't go to waste!"

"With you, nothing goes to waste," says Pepper with an all-knowing smile.

"Is that a fat joke?!" Tony asks incredulously.

"Yup, and where it goes, I don't know, because you are gorgeous," Pepper says smiling seductively.

"Gross," I say, cringing. Tony and Pepper just laugh, as we dig in.

The dinner was great, and Tony and Pepper acted as if I wasn't a stranger who was the daughter of their friend who was kidnapped that they never met. We relaxed, and joked around and just thoroughly enjoyed each other's company. Tony and I had a battle of wits that Pepper said was "entertainingly ridiculous." The food was incredible and I eventually got Tony to admit, even though we already knew, that he had not cooked the meal. Things were settling down, when suddenly the elevator opened.

"TONY! Why do you always have to hack S.H.I.E.L.D and make it look like it came from my computer?!" A man came in like a whirlwind. He threw his bow and arrow and bag of gear onto the black leather couch and stomped over to the bar, grabbed a glass and a bottle of vodka, took a shot, then noticed me. "Who is this? And please tell me that some ex-fling did not come back and say, 'Here's your kid.'"

"Excuse me, but no, I am not his kid. I am Alysha Banner, and my father is friends with Tony and my dad is missing, so please, do insult me again, as if I don't have enough shit on my plate," I spit venomously at the unknown man.

"Wait, Banner's kid? And he's missing? What the hell happened? I'm gone for literally 48 hours and shit hits the fan." the man asks incredulously, all the while glaring at me.

"Tony, perhaps you should introduce Clint here to Alysha, so they don't kill each other, and fill Clint in. We could use his help." Pepper's voice is calm, but tight and stern.

"Ok. Barton, this is Bruce's daughter, as she has so eloquently said. And Alysha, this is Agent Clint Barton. He works for S.H.I.E.L.D. Now that you both have been acquainted, please don't kill each other. That would be messy and a lot of paperwork for me."

"Are you kidding me?" Agent Barton, Pepper and I said at the same time. We looked at each other and Barton was the first one of us to start chuckling.

"I think we just became friends," he said to me.

"Yeah, I think so, too," I respond while holding back laughter.

"Call me Clint," he said.

"Ok, Clint, call me Alysha."

"What else would I call you?" he asks.

"I don't know, some rude name or 'the kid' or whatever."

"Yeah, sorry about that. Tony is always getting me into trouble with my boss, and I just came back from a hard mission. I'm a little testy right now."

"Eh, I get it. My job sucks sometimes too."

The rest of the night went on like that, Tony saying something stupid or ridiculous while Pepper, Clint, and I laugh at him. It was about 11:30 when I began to nod off. "Hey, I think I'm gonna go to bed," I say wearily.

Pepper smiled sympathetically. "Go for it. You've had a long day. Goodnight!"

Clint waves and Tony just mumbles something like 'Goodnight'. I smile as I walk away. " _I think I'll like living here, but only if Dad was here…. Oh, Dad, where are you?_ " I think to myself. I brush a tear away as I change into sweats and an old tee and climb into bed. I sigh and fall quickly into a deep and tormenting sleep.

* * *

 **So she got to meet Clint! Yay! Clint is one of my favorites, behind Tony and Cap, but I find that he isn't given the recognition that he deserves sometimes, so I'm going to give him the chance to show how cool he is! Since Alysha has now met Clint, who should I have her meet next? It's going to be either Natasha or Steve, so let me know which one you would like to see. This next chapter, as stated in the beginning rant, is not going to be posted for a little while, so let me know and I'll see what I can do! Thanks for reading!**


	5. Chapter 5

_Dream: 3 years earlier_

 _Dad and I are sitting on the couch, watching a James Bond marathon. We're sitting close together and I have my head on his shoulder with his arm around me._

" _Hey Dad?" I ask quietly._

" _Yeah?" comes his soft reply._

" _Can I ask you a question?" I sit up a bit so I can look him in the eye._

" _Anything darling. You know that."_

" _Who's my mom?" I say after a breath._

 _Dad sits up and looks at the wall blankly, as if remembering a ghost. He sighs deeply then turns to me._

" _I guess I ought to tell you, you've asked enough times now. Aly, your mother is- was a wonderful human being. She was beautiful, intelligent, and the most humane human being. But despite all of that, she had demons. She so open and fun, but she became reclusive, private, withdrawn the longer she and I were together. When she discovered she was pregnant with you, she almost never told me. She had wanted to leave, to have you and put you up for adoption, because she would never abort a child, even an unwanted one. She-"_

" _She never wanted me? She hated me?" I was in shock. I had always pictured a kind, caring woman, who loved everything and everyone._

" _No! Never say that!" Dad suddenly shouted, nearly coming out of his seat. He looked at me, with a terrified look and instantly went back to his quiet self. "Sorry. I didn't mean to shout. She loved you, but she had always sworn not to have kids, because she feared her demons would become yours."_

" _But who is she? What was her name?" I begged to know. This is the most he's ever said about her and this conversation won't end until I know her name._

" _Her name. That's…. a complicated topic. She, well, she never really told me. You see, she was the type of person who had secrets, so many secrets that sometimes it consumed her. I had surprised her with a simple question once, 'Where were you born?', and she immediately said "Russia," but then she had a look of terror overcome her, and instantly yelled, "NO! PENNSYLVANIA!"_

" _Was she a spy?" I was a little impressed that my dad could get a girl like this._

" _I don't know darling. When I met her, she was working at a little cafe on the outskirts of New York City. She never really spoke about her past. When we first started dating, she asked me to not ask her about her family, said that it hurt to think about them. I always assumed they had died in a car accident or something." He looks at me with a sad smile, eyes crinkling just a bit at the corners. "The name she told me, right before she left, was Sonya Salinsky."_

I wake up, tears streaming from my face. "I need to find her. I need to find my mom," I whisper to myself. And only Tony can help.

I go to the main floor, where we ate dinner that first night, and made myself a bowl of cereal. I sit quietly at the bar eating, when Clint staggers into the room, still drunk on sleep.

"Good morning," I say as brightly as I can muster, considering my dream.

"Hggh," he grunts in response. As Clint continues to make himself coffee, Tony emerges from his lab, with grease on his face, hands and shirt. Just as Clint finishes making his coffee the way he likes it, (sugar, no cream), Tony grabs it and downs half of it without blinking an eye.

"Daaamnnn itttt, Tonnyyyyy! That was mineee!" Clint whines.

"Yeah and it's good, but coffee's better black," Tony replies, then proceeds to finish it.

"Self-centered, billionaire bastard," Clint mumbles as he again fixes up a cup of coffee.

"Thanks for the compliment, overrated, smartass Katniss," Tony says, with a smile and wink at me, letting me know that this is all in good fun. Clint squints at Tony, grumbles something under his breath and let's it rest as he comes around and sits next to me at the bar, pouring himself a bowl of cereal too.

"Whatcha got planned for today, Aly?" He says, using his little nickname. It was either Aly or Mini-Tony, and Tony and I immediately shot the latter down.

I shrug. "I dunno, maybe I'll head into work, but I am due for a vacation, so I think I'll call in those vacation days instead."

Clint and I, over the past few days, have grown much closer, so he's gonna pry when I mention work. "That's right, you said you worked. Where?"

I chuckle, and glance over at Tony to make sure he isn't paying attention, but he's too busy being chewed out by Pepper, who just came into the room from her and Tony's suite, for almost blowing himself up while working on one of his suits last night. "Ironically, at that idiot's company."

Clint's jaw dropped. "You work for Stark? But you're only, what, 17? Don't you have school?"

"I used to, but I graduated from college a while ago, so I got a job in R&D. I really like it. It let's me use my hands, which is important, because I kinda have a hyperactive brain. Working with my hands slows my mind and I can focus."

"Jesus, so now I've befriended yet another brainiac. I just can't catch a break, can I? I am literally surrounded by smart people." Clint's face falls, and he lets out a big sigh. I nudge him with my arm and grin at him.

"You're smart, Bird Brain. But you're smart in a different way. You know what's going to happen in a battle before it does. Saved my ass a couple times too," Tony replied, walking around the bar to sit next to me.

"Wow, praise from you Stark? Are you sick?" Clint says, with a mocking look of shock on his face.

"Legolas, I'm hurt. I've complimented you before, but you were probably too enthralled with your arrows to hear me," Tony replies, defending himself.

"Not that I've heard since Clint's arrived," I said. "But let's settle this now. J?"

" _Yes, Alysha?_ " comes the robotic reply.

"How many times, within this month, let's say, has Tony complimented Clint, including just now?" I ask with a smirk on my face.

" _Including the compliment from only a moment ago, the total is 2 times in the past month_ ," JARVIS states.

"AHA! See Stark!" Clint yells, leaping off his chair in triumph.

"Dammit, J! I thought you were on my team!" Tony complains. "Hey, wait a second, why are you calling him 'J', Alysha? Only I call him 'J'," Tony turns accusingly towards me.

I get off my chair, laughing, drop my bowl in the sink, and head towards the elevator. "It's not my fault that _your_ AI loves me enough to want to have a bit of fun with you, right J?"

" _Of course, Miss Banner. All in the name of fun, sir._ " JARVIS replies, with a slight tone of delight.

"Turned on by my own creation! Pepper, do something. She's stealing JARVIS from me," Tony whines, as he wraps her in a bear hug.

"And on that note, I'm going to make my leave and head to the epic hot tub I found while exploring. Would you care to join me, Pepper? Maybe a, oh I don't know, girl's day? I kinda need to go shopping, and you've got the unlimited Stark card right?" I smirk.

"That sounds perfect. You go get your stuff and I'll meet you down at the hot tub, okay? Then we'll head out for a day of shopping," Pepper says quickly, slipping out of Tony's arms.

"No! Last time you went shopping, Pep, you spent $2,000! On basically nothing!" Tony protests. "And now that Alysha's going it'll be $4,000! No! No no no no no!"

"Anthony. I haven't had a girl's day since Nat went on her mission and Hill was assigned back to Washington. I deserve to splurge, considering you do that everyday with your suits! Now, Hill is still gone, and Nat isn't back yet, so I'm taking Alysha. So deal with it," Pepper says, back in CEO mode.

"Yes, ma'am," Tony mumbles, tail tucked between his legs.

"I heard my name?" A pretty-looking redhead steps out of the elevator right behind me, nearly making me jump out of my skin. Being too entertained by watching Tony get sassed, I didn't hear the doors open.

"Natasha! Welcome back! How was the mission?" Pepper says as she goes to greet her with a hug.

Natasha warmly accepts the hug. "Went as scheduled, except for a little mishap that involved me having to slit someone's throat, but….." She trails off as she notices me. "Um, and you are?" She asks me.

I swallow. "Hi, um, my name's Alysha Banner," I introduce myself, extending a hand for her to shake, unsure if that's the right move. I've heard of stories about the infamous Black Widow, and since she apparently just slit a guy's throat with no issues, I'm a bit wary of her.

She looks surprised, but shakes my hand anyway. "Banner? Like Bruce Banner? I didn't know he had a daughter."

"Yeah, neither did any of us. Hey, babe," Clint says walking up to her, planting a kiss on her temple.

"Me and Alysha were thinking about having a girl's day, hot tub, shopping, the works. Would you like to come? We can fill you in later," Pepper asks.

"Honestly, that sounds incredible. I'd love to," Nat sighs.

"But, Nat," Clint frowns. "I've missed you,"

"And I've missed you too, but I need some decompressing, and the hot tub is calling my name. I'll see you tonight, okay?" She smiles up at him, and pecks his lips. She turns to me and Pepper. "Let's do this then."

"Yay! I'm so looking forward to this," Pepper says, clapping her hands in a child-like manner. We three girls pile into the elevator to get our girl's day going.

* * *

 **Yes, so Clint and Natasha are together. Sorry but I think they are cute together. Anywho, yay! Chapter 5 is done! Did you like it? I hope so. I worked all weekend to try and finish it, but now it's going to be another several days before I update, cause my schedule decided to cram everything into a week. Work everyday, school everyday, rehearsals for the play I'm doing, yeah. Busy. So that means if you have any ideas about how you want this thing to go, have at it!**


	6. Chapter 6

"So, today went well, didn't it?" Pepper asks as we drive back to the tower after several hours of shopping. I was only planning on getting a few things but with Pepper in charge and Natasha backing her up, I got an entire wardrobe even larger than the one I had before my life turned upside down. While shopping, I was able to talk to Natasha and find out that she's a really cool girl who, while being able to kill a guy in seconds, is actually really fun and laid back.

"Yeah it was, Pep. I didn't realize how badly I wanted this," Nat replies with a contented sigh. Although she was only really there to support Pepper in her choices, she also got some new combat boots, a leather jacket and a couple dresses.

"It was fun," I said. "And it's even better that Tony's actually the one paying for all of it."

We all laugh and go quiet again. We drive a for a few more minutes while I muster up the courage to ask these girls a huge question and tell them about my mom. I close my eyes and think to myself, " _It's now or never, and these two girls will probably have good advice on how to proceed."_ "Hey, guys? Can I ask you guys a question? It's kinda important but I don't quite know how to word it. It might be a better question for Tony, but no offense to him, I like you girls better," I stutter out quickly before my courage dissipates.

"Yeah, sure sweetie, what's up?" Pepper asks, looking at me through the rear view mirror. "Is something wrong?"

"Well, not really, I mean yes but that's cause my dad is gone, but this could either help or make me lose all hope so I'm a little on the fence about it. Okay, so I know all of you, the boys included, didn't know I existed, but you know my dad. Did he ever mention anyone but the name of Sonya Salinsky? He told me once that she was my mother, but I never met her and he was pretty sure that she lied about her name. She wasn't around very long and only stayed long enough to have me, I mean, she left three days after I was born. Do you have any idea who she is?"

The second I say the name Sonya Salinski, Nat sits up a bit straighter. She brushes of the movement as if she was just getting comfortable, but I notice that she sits more rigidly than before. She knows something. "Nat?" I ask, hoping she'll answer.

She sighs. "I know of someone from the Red Room and KGB who used an alias Sonya Salinski. She was one of the first successful subjects of the Black Widow program, before they perfected it. But, I doubt it's her. One of the last missions I went on with Red Room, she was my partner. My backup. I got caught, as planned, but I didn't plan on being beaten to nearly an inch of my life within a matter of minutes of being brought into the compound I was trying to infiltrate. I was eventually able to send the distress signal out, a small white light flashing out of my window, but she never came to get me out of there. I spent nearly two weeks there, being beaten and starved. Apparently someone tipped my target off as to who I was and what I looked like. I guess he didn't appreciate an assassin being sent to kill him, even if she was a pretty assassin," Nat chuckled bitterly. "She disappeared, abandoned me there, left me to die probably. The only reason I got out of there was because I was already on SHIELD's radar and they didn't want me to die before they could get a chance to 'save me from myself'. So they sent Clint in to make it look as though SHIELD was raiding the complex, but in reality it was to let me escape. Clint found me a few days later, bleeding, starving and ready to kill anyone who looked at me. Clint's handler at the time told him to end me, said that I was a lost cause, but he obviously made a different call. I haven't heard anything about Sonya since, although I knew her at the time as Рената, or Renata in English, but who knows, she could have changed her name and moved to America."

"Why don't we have Tony run a DNA test, Aly?" Pepper asks. "Maybe your mother's in the system. It's worth a shot. I mean, if she's in America, there might be a chance that she did that to get out of Red Room. Is that a possibility, Nat?"

"Maybe, but it is a long shot, unfortunately. She never seemed like the type to leave Red Room. She was their best, most loyal asset, other than me."

"Ok, well, let's do it. If there is a chance that I can find out who my mom is, I want to do it," I reply determinedly. "And, Nat? I'm sorry that you had to go through that because of her. Even if she isn't my mom, I'm sorry."

She turns and smiles at me softly, a glint of pain still in her eyes from having to relive that experience. "Thank you, Alysha. And I hope that this test gives you some of the answers you're looking for."

"We're here guys," Pepper says softly. I notice that since I told them about my mom, we've all been oddly quiet, almost whispering. Especially Pepper. Does she know something too? I guess I'll have to find out later.

* * *

 **Hey guys! I'm back! I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in a while and that this chapter is so short, but I'll hopefully be updating again soon. Please review and ask me any questions! xoxo Drapex**


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